Floor-dressing implement.



E. D. FITZWATER.

FLOOR DRESSING IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29. 19:4.

6 1 9 1 2 M M m m /ml t m 3. Z) 8 m 7 5 5 n0 7 1L 1 INVENTEIR' WWWWATTUR EY THE COL EDGAR 1D FITZWATER, OF INDIAN VIEW, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'lOHIMSELF, AND JOHN L. APGAR AND GEORGE P. WAECHTER, BOTH OF CINCINNATI,OHIO.

FLOOR-DRESSING IMPLEMENT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR D. FITZWATER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Indian View, in the'county of Hamilton and State ofOhio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inFloor-Dressing Implements, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to floor-dressing implements and moreparticularly, to a hand-operating device that is adapted to I receiveand carry or propel a smoothing plane or the like along and in contactwith floor or like surface to be scraped, smoothed or likewise finishedor dressed, and the object of the invention herein is to i provide asmoothing plane or the like with a carrier'frame or box from the bottomof which latter it projects slightly and a suitablerearwardly-projecting handle or lever that slants upwardly and ispivotally-c'on- 2, a longitudinal sectional elevation taken on a linenear one edge of the plane and the manipulating-handle; Fig. 3 atransverse section taken on a line with the fore end of'the plane, andshowing the manipulating-handle broken off; Fig. 4, a side ele- V vationof the device seenin Figs. 1, 2 and 3,

but with the manipulating-handle omitted; Fig. 5, a plan View of Fig. 4:but with the plane omitted and showing, however, a scraper-attachment atthe fore end of the carrier-frame; Fig. 6, a longitudinal section of thecarrier-frame and the scraper seen in Fig. 5, omitting the plane; Fig.7,

a longitudinal section of the form of sandpapering block I wish to usein my device when the plane and scraper are omitted; and Fig. 8, a planview of the said sandpapering-block, showing the bottom-side thereof.

1 indicates a carrier frame or box having an elongated longitudinalopening 2 which is narrowest at its upper portion and broadest at itslower portion to provide suitable Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 29, 1914.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Serial No. 848,040.

intervening shoulders 3, the latter being made at a reduced height attheir rear ends, as best shown at 4 in Figs. 2 and 6. This carrier-frameis preferably made of metal or material that imparts weight enough tothe device to facilitate its use on a surface to be dressed, and itsfore end is made somewhat thinner than its other walls (as 1n Figs. 1,2, 5 and 6) to permit close work in corners and toward side-walls ofaroom in which the floor is being dressed. The rear end of thecarrier-frame is higher than its fore portion, as shown at 5, and isthus better adapted for the attachment of the manipulating-handle 6, thelatter having forked fore ends 7 that are each pivotallyattached to theside-walls of the carrierframe by means of a short shouldered screwbolt8 and adjusting lock or set screw-bolts 9 that respectively engage theseries of openings 10 in the high portion 5 of the sidewalls of thecarrier-frame (see Fig. 4) for arranging the main or outer portion ofthe manipulating-handle 6 at the desired slanting angle or inclinationto suit the height of the operator who walks back and forth along thefloor in pushing the implement to bring the bit or blade 11 of the plane12 into cutting action, thus saving himself the extremely dil'licult andtiring task of getting on his knees to handle the plane. I

The plane 12 is of the ordinary smoothing type and has its rear endreduced in height to provide the upper shouldered portion 13 that alinesbeneath the lower, rear shouldered portion 4 on the inner faces of bothside-walls of the carrier-frame, as best seen in Fig. 2.

Short bolts 14; are used to connect the outer ends of the forks 7 inplace at the inner end of the slanting manipulatinghandle 6, as bestseen in Figs. 1 and 2.

In using my device, the plane is first set upright on the floor and thenthecarrierframe is placed vertically upon it so that it (the plane)shall engage and lie within the elongated opening 2- and with the mainor fore end of the plane-stock having its side edges supporting theshouldered portions 3 within said elongated opening 2. A suitable orample space 15 is provided between the rear shouldered portion 13 of theplane-stock and the lower rear shouldered portion 4 on the inner faceofboth the side-walls of the carrier-frame so that the latter may have aslight rocking movement on the plane to allow for inequalities orunevenness in the surface to be dressed, such compensation preventingthe vibration of the plane and any skipping of the sharp edge of the bitor blade along said surface. Thisskip prevention feature is an importantone as it enables the device to be freely andeifectively used alongsurfaces that are quite rough and uneven, and the handle can be readilymanipulated in passing the device to and fro or straight ahead with anatural or normal swing of the arm without imparting that swing to theplane to throw its lower face away from cutting or dressing contact. Thelower face of the carrier-frame is slightly elevated above the floorsurface so as to free the plane from any undue friction or resistancebeyond that of its own lower surface only along the floor surface to bedressed. This feature is clearlyshown in Fig. 2.

In Figs. I 5 and 6 I show a convenient form of scraper device adapted tobe used in my machine especially when the smoothing-plane has beenremoved and an unusually rough surface is to be dressed or prepared forthe said plane. A triangular cross-section base or block 16 isdetachably.

secured by means of screw-bolts 17 to the thin front wall of thecarrier-frame and a scraper-blade 18 is detachably as well as adjustablysecured to the inwardly-beveled surface of said block 16 by means ofscrews 19. The lower edge of the blade 18 contacts with the floorsurface and reduces the roughness. The scraper could be mounted on thecarrier-frame and used with the smoothing-plane in place, but theoperation would be too laborious although both the scraping andsmoothing of the floor could thus be accomplished at one time.

In Figs. 7 and S I show a. convenient form of sandpap'ering device thatis adapted to be used in my machine too, especially when the said planeand scraper devices have 'performed their work, or when nothing but thefinal dressing of a floor is to be done and such sandpapering thereofonly necessary. A rectangular block 20 is provided with an elongatedlongitudinal upright extension 21 that is practically a counterpart ofthe plane-stock excepting it has no opening such as is provided for thebit and its adjuncts in said pla'nestock. The same rear gshouljdered ordepressed portion 13 is'made in the upright extension 21, as in theplane-stock, and its cooperation with the inner shouldered side-walls ofthe carrier-frame is the same as that of the rear shouldered portion ofthe plane-stock. This upright extension 21 is shown in both Figs. 7 and8, the latter view showing it in dotted-lines along its middle portion.A strip of ordinary sandpaper 22 is stretched .over the lower surface ofthe block 20 and ithas its four edges turned upward into engagement withthe shouldered edges 23, of the block 20 for the securing or clampingengagement of a band or the like 2 1 that is readily handled when it isdesired toreplace the strip or sheet of sandpaper at any time.

1. A floor-dressing implement comprising. a hand-plane having a bladetherein and a reduced. or shouldered. rear upper surface 111 the heelpart of its stock, a 021113181 frame having an elongated opening thereinthat has downwardly-facing shoulders of two levels to correspond to thetwo levels of the upper face of the plane andmade in its side-wallsforthe ready and free accommo dation of the plane from the bottom-of thecarrier-frame so that the bottom of the plane shall be at a lower levelthan that of the carrier-frame, and a rearwardly-extendingpropelling-handle detachably and .adjustably secured at its fore end tothe middle of said carrier-frame.

2. A floor-dressing implement comprising a rectangular, opencarrier-frame adapted to readily and freely accommodate a handplane, apropelling, rearwardly-extending handle having .a forked fore. end andadapted to be adjustably connected to the carrier-frame, and asupplemental inclined scraper-blade whose length is that of the width ofthe carrier-frame at whose fore end it is mounted and thereby adapted toperform close wall-and-corner Work in the 7 Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, 1). c." i v

